A Certain Sense of Synergy
by Rachel J. Lupin
Summary: Rather than pick each other's dates Logan and Quinn throw caution to the wind and decide to go to prom together. Obviously, AU.


**A/N: **Mad props to** mondlering moofoot**, **Lady Liln**, and **Abster 1** for their kind comments and constructive critiques. Any remaining mistakes are my own. The title was blatantly ripped off from a Motion City Soundtrack song by the name of "It Had to be You". This honestly isn't the most brilliant thing I've ever written, but it was wicked fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it just the same.

Also I own nothing.

* * *

After spending several frustrating minutes hiding behind a plant and the half wall, attempting to pick each others' dates for prom, Quinn and Logan find themselves leaning against said half wall (still hiding, as usual).

Logan's hand covers his temple, where it still sort of hurts from where she flicked him. He notices she still doesn't look too happy so (to avoid future injury and loss of certain relationship privileges) he says, "Look, I'm sorry about those twins, okay?". Quinn still looks unhappy. He rubs his temple, then drops his hand.

Quinn glances over at him. "It's not that, it's just that - if we go to prom with anybody but each other we are going to be miserable."

"Yeah, well, if we go to prom _with _each we're going to be miserable."

Quinn's jaw drops and she looks a little bit like she wants to hit him, so he quickly adds, "Not because we're together, but, you know," his face scrunches apologetically, "everyone else?"

"Oh, right." She looks down.

He slides his hand on top of hers and rubs his thumb across her wrist. "The together part would be pretty great."

She tries to smile at him, but she can't quite manage anything but a grimace. "This stinks."

This kind of breaks his heart so he sighs and says, "Let's just go together."

She thinks he's making a terrible joke at first and looks at him funny until she realizes that he's not kidding. "What will we tell everybody, exactly?"

Giving her a little bit of a crooked smile, Logan shrugs. "We'll make something up."

"You're serious?" He nods and she starts to brighten considerably, but keeps from smiling and asks, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"When I'm old I don't want the only thing I remember about junior prom to be that I wasn't dancing with the only girl that I can actually make out with at the end."

She rolls her eyes at him. He moves sideways, closer to her, and bumps her with his shoulder. "You know what I mean."

She doesn't actually, but she just sort of shrugs. He gets that she's not getting it (which seems weird to him). "Look, I won't have fun with anybody but you."

She (finally) smiles, very widely at this, but then her smile falls quickly. "You know, if we try this, it could go really badly."

He shrugs. "Will you still like me if does?" (He says this with a false amount of confidence, like there isn't really a question there. But there totally is.)

"I will."

"Then let's do it."

* * *

In the girls' room Quinn sits on the couch reading and Lola stares in the mirror doing who knows what (and probably really nothing at all) with her hair. Lola asks Quinn if she knows who she's going to prom with. Quinn starts to cover and stutter, but then steadies herself (she knew this was coming) and says as nonchalantly as possible, "Logan."

Lola laughs; Quinn turns the page in her textbook.

"You're serious." Quinn nods. "But why?"

"Well, he asked me and I said yes. Lola, you're supposed to be the expert on how these kind of things work."

"But it's _Logan._"

Quinn feels her neck getting red, but keeps her eyes fixed on her book as best as possible and shrugs. "We just thought it made sense. That way we all are going with somebody and we won't have to awkwardly bring anybody new into the group."

"But Quinn - Logan?"

Quinn just shrugs.

She thinks maybe they should have thought this through a little more.

* * *

In the boys' room Michael has spent the last fifteen minutes laughing quite hysterically. James spent those minutes standing there awkwardly. Logan has spent those minutes looking really annoyed.

Michael eventually calms down enough to say, "Seriously Logan, who are you taking?"

"Seriously, _Michael_, I'm taking Quinn."

Michael just keeps laughing. Logan looks like he wants to punch Michael, so James finally steps in. "Well, I for one think it makes sense."

Logan tilts his head to the side. "You do?"

"Well, yeah. This way everybody knows each other. When we all go to prom, we can just hang out and won't have to worry about making somebody new feel welcome. I have personal experience that can testify that you guys are really bad at that."

"Um, yeah. That's why we're going together."

James smirks at Logan for a second. "I'm sure that's exactly what you two were thinking." Logan feels like some thing's off about the way James says that , but he doesn't say anything because Michael has finally stopped laughing.

"You know what? That actually makes sense."

Logan looks smug and says. "Of course it does."

Then Michael says, "It must have been Quinn's idea," and goes back to laughing while Logan groans and walks out of the room.

* * *

Fifteenth minutes later, Quinn and Logan meet on a now often used spot on the grass behind the rock and plants and immediately throw their stuff down and sit, with crossed legs, across from each other.

She bumps his knee with the back of her hand and asks, "How did telling Michael and James go?"

He rolls his eyes. "Michael laughed, but James, I think he knows...something."

"Really?"

He nods and they are silent for a second. He mirrors her previous action and bumps her knee (except this time it's not so much a bump as a placement) and asks, "How did it go for you?"

"I only told Lola. She isn't sure why I would even want to go with you."

He huffs and pouts about that a moment. Her hand touches his arm. "I know why I would want to go with you."

He perks up at this, and leans towards her a little (his hand is definitely still on her knee). "Oh, really. Why is that exactly?"

She leans her face close to his and smiles quietly for a few moments, until she says, "I'm not going to tell you. Your head is big enough as it is."

Then she throws her head back and laughs, while Logan sputters out an annoyed "What?"

After Quinn stops laughing she leans in to kiss him and without saying anything sort of gives him at least one of the reasons that she wants to go with him. (Probably not the most important reason. But the most fun.)

* * *

For the next several days things go okay. When Zoey finds out about Quinn and Logan she doesn't have much to say (she hasn't had much to say about anything lately and is in what appears to be some kind of inexplicable funk). Michael laughs whenever he sees either of them. Lola makes lots of _ew _faces and tries to talk Quinn out of it once or twice. James (when he isn't distracted by Zoey's weird funk) sort smirks at them a lot (which further convinces both of them that he knows, but they don't dare try their ask him trick twice).

But it starts to look like everyone is mostly going to leave it alone and move on to other things until one particular lunch break the week of prom.

Logan was standing behind an empty seat at lunch, bragging (exaggerating) about something "awesome" he had done or purchased recently before he sat his stuff down and started eating. Quinn was walking with her head down towards the table, preoccupied (with something science related most likely, but she has found herself slightly more absent minded than usual as of late, which was at least partially due to her nervousness about her and Logan's arrangement) and not paying enough attention to where she was going.

She ran into him. Very hard. Her glasses fell off her face and she almost fell to the ground herself, but Logan caught one of her arms with one hand and threw the other arm around her waist. They tried to pull apart from each other at just the right speed (too fast and too slow would have both caused some unwanted attention). This plan would have worked, but then Logan, seeing her glasses on the ground, bent down to pick them up and gently placed them back on her face, his hand lingering a little after. He tucked her hair behind her ear.

James cleared his throat. The two jumped a little and turned to face everyone, who at this point was giving them very, very strange looks. Quinn mumbled a thanks to Logan and sped off without eating lunch. Logan took his seat quickly and started to eat, pointedly ignoring everyone (even though internally he sort of want to shout at them to stop staring at him, but even he knew that would have been a really stupid move).

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at Logan for a few minutes until he, after only finishing half of his meal, decided he had enough and left the lunch area (but not without grabbing an apple for Quinn).

He calls her and they quickly meet in her dorm room.

She smiles when he hands her the apple, but then grows quickly serious, and pacing around the room she says. "James so knows."

Logan nods and they quickly decide that maybe they would dare the ask him trick twice.

* * *

Later that afternoon Logan waits for Micheal to leave (thankfully he's studying with Lisa) and then sends Quinn a text telling her he's left.

When she knocks on the door Logan tries to get there first, but James happened to be standing near the door. He looks through the peep hole and then turns to Logan to say, "I was wondering when the three of us would be having this conversation."

He opens the door to show a very nervous looking Quinn. Logan takes a few steps forward and pulls on her hand until she's inside. James shuts the door in silence. Quinn cannot stop smoothing invisible wrinkles on her shirt.

Logan finally says, "Dude, you obviously know."

"Logan." Quinn squeals out a very stern almost whisper. Clearly she had been expecting a little more subtlety than that.

James smiles a little. "Hey, he's right. I do know."

"Oh, well - still," Quinn says and punches Logan on the shoulder half-heartedly.

A couple of beats pass before Logan says, "So, you aren't going to tell anyone, right?"

James nods. "If you guys don't want anybody to know, then I won't tell anybody."

"Not even Zoey?" Quinn asks, tentatively.

James nods. "Not even Zoey."

The two look considerably more relaxed. Logan shuffles his feet a little and then starts to walk towards the couch in the boys' room, pulling Quinn along with him.

James sits down on the bottom bunk and leans forward, setting his elbows on his knees, facing the couple where they sat on the couch. "I don't get it though."

Logan (who has by now quite proudly put his arm around Quinn) asks, with a certain amount of annoyance, "Get what?" (Quinn looks like she can't decide whether to push his arm off of her shoulder or not.)

"Why you two don't just tell everybody. Is everyone really going to freak out that much?"

Logan rolls his eyes. "You did see what happened at lunch today, right?" Quinn fidgets and blushes a little at the thought.

James leans back. "Okay, I get why you would want to keep it a secret, but, for the record, I think you make sense. Somehow."

Logan just gives him a look that says _duh_. Quinn smiles and thanks him.

Logan's hand trails away from her shoulder and his fingers start to make little circles on her neck. She pulls away and shoots him a look, before she turns to James. "Listen, I know things aren't great with you and Zoey right now, so you probably don't really want to be around a couple, but...is it okay if I hang out for while?"

He nods. Logan starts to move his hand back to where it was, but Quinn jumps up and says, "Great I'll just do my homework here. I'll go get my stuff and be back in a few minutes."

Logan groans and Quinn ignores him as she bounds out the door (he isn't really that annoyed, and she knows it).

"You aren't really annoyed." James's all knowing smirk is really starting to bother Logan.

Logan crosses his arm in his typical childish sort of way. "If you weren't here I'd be making out with Quinn right now."

"If I weren't here you probably wouldn't even be hanging out with Quinn because you would be too worried about getting caught."

Logan pouts a little more but doesn't say anything because he knows it's the truth (and because hanging out with Quinn is always better than not hanging out with Quinn).

* * *

Things go okay for the next day or so. None of their friends really say anything about what happened. Michael has stopped laughing and Lola has stopped with her _ew_ faces. Now they both just always look a little perplexed whenever they see Quinn and Logan and sometimes whisper stuff to each other or get suddenly quiet whenever one or the other approaches. The couple doesn't exactly find this behavior fun to endure, but it seems more workable than some things.

Quinn and Logan are mostly unsure if they should act like they dislike each other or not. Following James's advice, they decided to seem "just friendly enough". They do their best, but once they start being nice they both find it a little difficult to stop. Consequently, looks across the table at lunch are much more frequent.

They also hang out with James some. It feels almost normal, except for the fact that James keeps reminding them that if they make eyes at each other across the table all through lunch people are going to catch on eventually.

Logan think he's just grumpy because he and Zoey are clearly doomed. He doesn't say it though, except to Quinn.

He thinks he might actually feel sorry for the guy.

It's two days before the prom and Lola is too busy trying to un-funk Zoey to confront Quinn.

Michael, however, feels no such obligations and thus has nothing keeping him from confronting Logan.

"Dude, you like Quinn."

Logan can't bring himself to shake his head no (or really look at Michael), but he does say, "We're friends, I guess."

Michael thinks even that is weird. "What happened to all that we-hate-each-other stuff from like a month ago?"

"We got over it." Michael doesn't look convinced. "Hey, maybe I can grow up."

Michael laughs (as though this too is ridiculous) but then says, "I guess the fact that you like her shows that you can."

Logan's not sure what to say to that. Michael hits him on the shoulder and says, "You know what? It's totally weird, but I don't have a problem with it."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Cool."

Logan sneaks off later to tell Quinn about it, she's happy that this seems to prove that people could get used to them. They still decided not tell Michael though. Just because he's okay with Logan liking her doesn't mean he won't spread the fact that they're a couple all over school.

But letting people know about them is starting to seem less difficult by the day, and that's promising. So they make out. To celebrate, obviously.

* * *

The next day (one day before prom) Zoey breaks up with James.

Quinn and Logan don't spend any part of that afternoon hanging out with James in the boys' dorm room. Quinn makes Logan try to cheer him up and Logan pretends like he's only doing it so she won't cause him some kind of injury or something (It's most of the reason he's doing it. Most. Not the only.)

Quinn spends the afternoon trying not to completely tell Zoey off. (She does slip in a _you couldn't have waited until after prom so you didn't leave the poor guy dateless?_ Zoey merely shrugs in response.)

* * *

The day of prom Quinn and Lola try to convince Zoey to go anyway (with James, even, if she so desired). She doesn't agree, so when they all crowd into the limo that Logan rented it's pretty clear that James feels like the odd man out.

They briefly consider asking Stacy to hop in with them but Logan doesn't want to spend the whole night being hit on by James's make-shift date (Quinn doesn't want that either).

When they squeeze into the back Quinn scoots close to Logan and loops her arms around his arm, an action that has started to become routine thanks to afternoons spent with James. Michael, not smoothly at all, laughs and winks at Logan. Lola makes an_ ew _face for the first time in several days.

Logan moves his arm a little, bracing for her to separate from him.

She doesn't.

* * *

Dinner goes by smoothly. No one even noticed that both Quinn and Logan rarely had more than one hand on the table. (Or if they did, they didn't say anything.)

Logan's just happy that they ended up sitting in chairs that are relatively close together, so when Quinn crosses her legs the back of her calf ends up right on top of his leg. He looks over at her when it happens. She bites her lip and pushes her food around her plate, then shoots him a quick sideways glance and a small smile.

Logan smiles to himself and feels something inside of him falling and twisting in the most pleasant, thrilling kind of way.

He loves prom.

* * *

When they get to prom Lola (now free of Zoey related obligations) pulls Quinn away and says, "Okay, I've been trying not to ask this, and I don't think I even want to know, but what the heck is the deal with you and Logan?"

Quinn immediately feels like she misses the feeling of Logan standing next to her. "Uh, well, it's..." she trails off when no good lie comes to her (she isn't sure if she even wants to tell a lie at this point).

"Look, it just seems like you are starting to like him and stuff, and I know you were, or are, all heartbroken over Mark, but Logan's not going to treat you any better."

Quinns jaw tightens and before she can realize what she's saying she jumps to his defense. "Actually, he does!"

Then her eyes get wide and she slaps her hand over her mouth.

Lola is equally wide eyed. "Wait. Are you saying you guys are already a thing? And you didn't tell us?"

Quinns hand goes to her hip. "Look at the way you are acting. Would you want to tell everyone if you were me?"

Lola is less shocked at this point. "No, but I wouldn't date Logan." She shudders (for dramatic effect).

Quinn holds in her annoyance (luckily for Lola, she decided to go to prom laserless. The watch didn't go with her dress.) "Look, just trust me. Who has he dated in the last four months?"

Lola thinks about it. "No one, I guess."

"That's because he's been dating _me._"

Lola's ponders that for a second. Then her shock comes back, her hands go to her hips and she shouts, "You've been dating for four months."

Quinn looks around to see if anyone has noticed. Logan, standing quite a few yards away at the refreshment table "getting punch" (but clearly paying attention to their conversation) did notice. He gives her a weak smile and goes back to stirring the big spoon around the bowl. Quinn directs her attention back at Lola. "Would you keep it down please?"

"Sorry. This is just really weird."

"You think we don't know that?"

Lola doesn't really respond to the question. She looks at the ground for a while before she finally says, "Well, from what I've seen, you seem happy - with him - I guess. And he is as weird as you are, even though it's in a totally different way."

"So, you are okay with this?"

With her arms crossed, Lola nods slowly and then adds, "But he better not be a jerk to you, or he'll be sorry. I have a big strong football-playing boyfriend now."

Quinn laughs. "Yeah, who's a total pacifist." Lola laughs at that too. Quinn looks back at the refreshment table where said football-playing boyfriend is standing next to Logan. They are both giving the girls please-finish-talking-and-come-back looks. Logan's, however, is much more desperate.

The girls share a quick smile and Lola says, "So you think we should get back to our boys now?"

Quinn nods very enthusiastically. Lola doesn't make fun of her for it (even though she really wants to).

They take a few steps and Lola says, "When are you guys going to tell everyone else?"

Quinn quickly realizes that she's going to be upset to not be the first one to know, but she figures she might as well rip the rest of the band aid off. All in one breath she says, "James already knows. Michael doesn't know we're together but he does know Logan has certain romantic feelings for me."

Lola's jaw drops again. Quinn adds, as though it might help. "We didn't tell them, exactly. They figured it out. "

Lola looks like she is going to yell again, but by then they've reached the boys. Vince (thankfully) swoops in with a, "Hey hot stuff," and a kiss.

Lola's not ready to let it go though. "Did you know Logan and Quinn were a thing?"

Vince pulls away, nervous. "I," he searches for his next word, "suspected."

Lola huffs and stomps her foot a little. Logan quickly looks at Quinn, opens his mouth to say something. Then some poor kid who has been waiting minutes for the punch says, "Excuse me?"

Everyone but Vince shouts, "What!"

"Uh, I just want some punch," he says.

With a few mumbled apologies, they awkwardly move further away from the table and further from the main prom area.

Lola speaks up again. "It sucks that it went on this long without you telling me."

Quinn apologizes. Logan just looks annoyed that Lola's annoyed.

"I just can't believe the stupid boys figured this out before me."

Then Logan says, "You're dumb. We already knew that. Can we freakin' dance now?"

Lola balls her fist together and clinches her jaw; Quinn bites her lip and tries to decide between laughing or flicking Logan on the head. Before either girl can take any real action the boys drag them both to the dance floor.

* * *

At some point during the night Chase and Zoey show up. Together. Everyone freaks out when they see them and then Chase and Zoey freak out when they hear about Quinn and Logan. Thankfully they are too deeply in we-are-finally-together mode to really give Quinn and Logan that hard of a time about it.

Everyone's a little bit worried about James, but he seems to be doing...okay. He's danced with every girl who is dateless and then some that aren't. Quinn and Logan can't tell if this is his means of coping or if he's actually enjoying himself, but as long as he doesn't get beat up by some girl's date it seems better than being all mopey.

During a slow dance Quinn says to Logan, "I think he turned into you."

He scoffs, "Please, I'm a one woman kind of guy now. And I'm pretty sure he's overcompensating." Before she can compliment him on using such a big word he catches her and says, "I do pay attention when you define words." She smiles and lets out a short laugh. Then Logan adds, like he's caught the plague or something, "If anything I'm more like that guy now."

"No, I definitely think you are still you." He opens his mouth a little but doesn't say anything (he isn't sure if he should be offended or not). She adds, "You've got much more personality than him."

He scoffs again, "Well, when he first got here you seemed just as into his _personality_ as every other girl in this stupid school."

"Are you still jealous about that?"

They stop dancing. His hands don't leave her waist, but he does back away from her. "I wasn't jealous then and I'm not jealous now."

She smiles and steps closer to him. He can feel her breath on his face as she says, "See, you haven't totally changed." She brushes her nose against his and whispers, slowly, and still smiling, "You were a liar then. You are a liar now."

Then she presses her lips to his lips and her hands leave his shoulders to touch his face and then bury themselves in his hair. His hands spread across her back and he pulls her close. Generally at the point all of Logan's brain is consumed with the _ohmygodI'mkissingquinnsheisosohot_ thoughts. But this time somewhere in his mind he was also thinking this was all my idea and it totally worked out. (He was also thinking about how he was going to completely use this against her the next time that she _Oh dear_-ed his ideas.) Then she pulled away and said something about public displays of affection and decency.

Whatever she was saying, it sounded a little bit like she was trying to convince herself. It was totally adorable. So he grinned.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. You." She glares at him so he adds, quickly, "are really cute."

She lets it slide.

--

The End!

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